Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 8, 2025
Author Spotlight: Developing a Point-of-Care Hemoglobin Estimation Method for Anemia Management
Published on: January 19, 2024
A Decision Aid for Nutrition Support is Acceptable in the Pediatric Hospital Setting
Jennifer Buchhorn-White1, Eden G Robertson2, Claire E Wakefield3
1School of Women's and Children's Health, The University of New South Wales, Australia.
Insights
A new decision aid (DA) for pediatric nutrition support was found acceptable and useful by parents. Healthcare professionals also found the DA valuable, suggesting it can improve understanding and shared decision-making in pediatric nutrition care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Clinical Decision Support
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Effective communication regarding nutrition support is crucial in pediatric healthcare.
- Decision aids (DAs) can enhance understanding of complex medical information for parents.
- Improving parental comprehension of nutrition support options is a key goal in pediatric care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the acceptability and usability of a newly developed decision aid (DA).
- To assess the DA's impact on parent understanding of nutrition support risks and benefits.
- To gauge healthcare professionals' (HCPs) perceptions of the DA in a general pediatric setting.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 18 parents and 12 HCPs who discussed pediatric nutrition support.
- Parents and HCPs rated the DA's acceptability, feasibility, and clarity.
- Parental perceived knowledge acquisition after using the DA was assessed.
Main Results:
- Parents reported high satisfaction with the DA, finding it relevant, unbiased, and improving their understanding.
- Most parents would recommend the DA to others.
- HCPs found the DA clearly described essential information and would recommend it to colleagues, though less certain of its impact on parent decision-making.
Conclusions:
- The developed decision aid is acceptable and useful for parents making nutrition support decisions for their children in pediatric settings.
- Decision aids can potentially facilitate shared decision-making by improving understanding of nutrition support options.
- Further research is needed to evaluate the DA's effectiveness for specific pediatric conditions.
Purpose:
Incorporating a Decision Aid (DA) about nutrition support into the general pediatric healthcare setting may improve parent and patient understanding about the risks and benefits of nutrition support options. We aimed to evaluate the acceptability and usability of our newly developed DA for parents of children in the general pediatric healthcare setting who require nutrition support.
Design And Methods:
Participants were 18 parents with a child who had received nutrition support; and 12 Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) involved in pediatric nutrition support discussions. Parents' and HCPs' ratings of acceptability and feasibility of the booklet, and parents' perceived knowledge acquisition after reading the booklet were assessed.
Results:
Parents were satisfied with the DA, reporting that it was an appropriate length and unbiased. Most parents felt the DA was relevant to their decision-making, improved understanding, and would recommend it to other parents. HCPs felt that the booklet clearly described the essential information for nutrition support options, but less certain of the booklets' impact on parent decision-making. Regardless, most HCPs would recommend the booklet to other clinicians.
Conclusion:
Our decision aid appears to be acceptable and useful for parents deciding on nutrition support for their child in the general pediatric hospital setting.
Practice Implications:
A DA may facilitate shared decision-making through improved understanding of the risks and benefits of different nutrition support options in the pediatric setting. Further evaluation is required with specific pediatric conditions, to determine the effectiveness for parents actively deciding on their child's nutrition support.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Parentral Nutrition: Centeral and Peripheral Parental Nutrition
PN can be administered through two primary routes:
1. Central Parenteral Nutrition (CPN):
CPN involves delivering a high concentration of nutrients through a large vein. This is typically achieved using a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) or,...
01:15Enteral Nutrition II: Nasointestinal and Gastrostomy Feeding
Nasointestinal Feeding
Nasointestinal feeding involves placing a tube...
01:28Chronic Kidney Disease III: Interprofessional Care
01:25Peritoneal Dialysis III: Nursing Management
01:29Drug Dosing: Infants and Children
01:20Acute Kidney Injury V: Interprofessional Care